Sporobolus creber

Slender rat's-tail grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial

Slender rat's-tail grass is a naturalized perennial grass found in open, disturbed areas and roadsides at elevations around 30 meters. Flowering from April to November, this grass produces dark green or lead-colored spikelets 1.1 to 1.5 millimeters long with delicate, unequal glumes. Growing in dense tufts with erect stems 70 to 100 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive clumps with thin green to brown leaves. Its grass blades are narrow, measuring 6 to 30 centimeters long and only 1 to 2 millimeters wide, with glabrous or slightly ciliate margins. The fruit is small, red-brown, and 0.7 to 0.8 millimeters long with a 4-angled turbinate shape.

Habitat: Open, disturbed areas, roadsides

Bloom period: Apr-Nov

Elevation: 30 m

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.